Chapter 2 – Part 3

Meeting Marquis Evan after a long time, Tenere was quite nervous.

This time, Eric wasn’t with him, making Tenere feel even more helpless.

“I apologize, Father. There’s much to learn, so… It might be difficult for you to see me for a while.”

“You’re a fool, you’ve been locked in your room reading all this time and you can’t learn something like that quickly.”

“…”

“You should stop trying to do things that don’t work and start thinking about earning the king’s favor. He must be exhausted from state affairs, so at least massage his shoulders a bit and do some embroidery on his clothes.”

Tenere couldn’t bring herself to say that gaining the Emperor’s favor was impossible.

He would be furious if he heard that the Emperor told her not to expect love.

“Your Majesty is young. So, don’t be a boring wife…”

Marquis Evan was explaining in detail the ways to gain the Emperor’s favor.

Perhaps because Eric did not come today, his story seemed endless.

The Marquis raved about the way the beloved Empresses spoke, behaved, and dressed.

Tenere nodded as usual, but it didn’t really register in her ears.

‘…It would be better if you did it yourself.’

Since you know so well how to be loved, why not become the empress yourself and captivate His Majesty without asking others to do it?

Tenere quickly snapped out of her thoughts.

What am I thinking? Why suddenly…

“Your head seems strangely stiff today.”

At the sound of the voice, Tenere looked at her father again. The marquis was staring at her with a displeased expression. Tenere felt tension in her shoulders.

“Sorry… Father. Her Majesty advised me not to lower my head recklessly…”

“I am your father. Did your father, who raised you and made you the empress you are, tell you to behave that way?”

“…I’m sorry, Father.”

Tenere bowed her head humbly. It was a moment when Marquis Evan seemed about to lecture her.

Knock, knock.

Both of them turned their heads simultaneously at the sound of the knock. A maid entered and politely said,

“Her Majesty, the Dowager Empress, requests an audience.”

“…Empress?”

“Yes, and also Marquis Evan…”

“Well, let her in.”

The marquis quickly replied. The maid turned to Tenere, and as she nodded, the empress was finally ushered in.

“Ludwig Evan, greet Her Majesty the Empress.”

“It’s been a while, Marquis. I heard you were visiting the empress, so I thought I’d drop by to say hello.”

Dowager Empress Beatrice had a smile on her face as usual. It was a comforting smile.

“Your Majesty, I wanted to express my gratitude for taking care of my daughter, who is still lacking. Even though I heard that you are busy, I wanted to thank you in person.”

The Marquis seemed like a completely different person when he was with Tenere.

A Polite tone, a seemingly humble smile, and eloquent words. Even though she became the empress, there were things that Tenere could not get from her father.

Beatrice prevented Tenere from pouring tea into her cup.

And she turned to Marquis Evan.

“To say that the Empress is lacking is the same as saying that the judgment of His Majesty and the Imperial Family is lacking as well. I think you’d better be careful in the future.”

“……Yes?”

The Marquis didn’t understand Beatrice’s words quickly. Her calm voice and smiling face fooled him. But he was used to being watched by those more powerful than him, so he quickly bent down to apologize and thank the Empress for her care for his daughter

“Marquise.”

Beatrice pushed her empty teacup toward the Marquis. Embarrassed, the Marquis looked back and forth between the teacup and the Dowager Empress’s face.

The Empress looked at him, then said with a laugh.

“The teacup is empty.”

There was a moment of silence. Marquis Evan’s face went white.

Sometimes, those in the lowest positions personally served tea to express affection for those higher to them. However, usually, it was the servants’ duty to serve tea.

So presenting the Marquis with an empty teacup was tantamount to confirming that you were the lowest of the low at this table.

In addition, it was a reminder to him of his position.

“…I apologize, Your Majesty.”

The marquis quickly took the teapot and poured tea into the Empress Dowager’s cup.

The cup with the lily pattern was filled with orange tea. Beatrice still showed no signs of discomfort.

“By the way, it seems that the empress’s cup is also empty.”

Although spoken casually, the meaning was clear.

Marquis Evan, embarrassed, quickly smiled awkwardly. Then he slowly poured tea into his daughter’s cup.

Tenere, not knowing what to do, just sat there with her head bowed.

“The Empress was a Marquis’s daughter not so long ago, so it’s understandable that she’s still adjusting, and as her biological father, I understand your concerns. But the Empress is a member of the Imperial family now, so don’t worry too much.”

The Dowager Empress used the word “worry,” but neither Tenere nor the Marquis realized that it had multiple meanings.

Tenere looked between the two of them, unsure of what to do, and the Marquis quickly bowed.

“I understand, Your Highness.”

“Yes. By the way, the Empress is…….”

“Until yesterday, you seemed to be doing exactly as I asked, but did you not understand…… what I was saying?”

“Your Majesty?”

“I thought I told you that the Empress stands at the Emperor’s side and that you were not to bow to anyone.”

Beatrice replied nonchalantly, then turned to Tenere. She looked at Tenere, still frozen, and shook her head.

At Beatrice’s words, Tenere realized that she had been looking down, just as she had before. She quickly straightened her back and looked up. She could see her father’s pale face all too clearly

“You will be careful in the future. Wouldn’t it be misleading for the Empress to bow low when meeting her father, for example, to suggest that she holds him in higher esteem than His Majesty the Emperor, or that he has been treating her so strictly in the past that she has forgotten…… my warnings?”

As she spoke the last words, Beatrice’s gaze was fixed on the Marquis. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes had disappeared.

However, it was only for a moment. The warmth that had disappeared from her face returned as a smile.

“Of course, it’s probably because the empress cherishes her father so much.”

The Marquis gave a quick, awkward laugh at the bland conclusion.

Tenere sat with her head held high, unable to move.

After a short time, the marquis left the palace.

It was a short time, but Teneur felt like she was walking on thin ice the whole time.

“Is it difficult for you to face your father?”

Beatrice asked. Her voice and expression were as calm as before, but somehow Tenere felt relieved compared to before.

“Fear sometimes closes our eyes and mouths. But often, it’s not a big deal when you actually face it.” Her voice, mixed with laughter, seemed to soothe and comfort Tenere.

‘Not a big deal.’ Tenere mulled over the words. What had her father looked like? What Marquis Evan looked like from the front.

He was a much smaller man than Tenere had expected. He was small compared to the Emperor and Empress, who tended to be large in stature, as well as nobles of similar age.

His shoulders were dwarfed by his lack of training, his face wrinkled, and the backs of his hands lightly tanned with age spots. Sunken eyes, sunken cheeks, and bulging cheekbones…….

If you met him on the street, he would have been nothing more than a passerby.

“…I have caused trouble for the Empress.”

This situation was incredibly embarrassing and uncomfortable for Tenere.

She appreciated Beatrice’s consideration in not openly bringing up his father’s story and felt remorseful that she had taken it upon herself to address the matter.

“Oh no, I just came to greet the Marquis.”

“…”

“By the way, I’m thinking of visiting the chapel where the Late Emperor is enshrined. If you’re not too busy, would you like to come with me?”

Beatrice’s hand lightly held Tenere’s hand. Tenere nodded slowly.

* * *

In the chapel where the bones of past emperors, empresses, and court officials were laid to rest, statues carved in the likeness of the ancestors were placed.

The founding emperor, who subdued numerous kingdoms and established Eugenia as an empire, sat with dignity and nobility before kneeling kings from other countries.

Leonard’s father, Emperor Sunhwang, was also depicted wearing armor and holding a sword, leading the military.

However, Edwin, Sunhwang’s father, was portrayed in a powerless state, holding his beloved empress as he awaited death.

“The day I became Empress, Emperor Sunhwang brought me here.”

Beatrice casually took a dry cloth from the shelf after wiping fresh flowers and cleaning the vases and urn. Although Tenere tried to help, she refused.

“Emperor Sunhwang explained each of these statues to me, and in the end, he told me not to expect love… he said it like that.”

Beatrice’s voice seemed lost in distant memories. Perhaps that day was the day she had the longest conversation with Emperor Sunhwang.

It was also the day when her expectations and excitement, once fragile, shattered into pieces.

“Did the current Empress receive the same advice?”

Beatrice asked without turning to Tenere.

Thanks to Beatrice’s daily cleaning, not a speck of dust was visible on the dry cloth.

Tenere nodded slowly.

“…Yes.”

“Emperor Sunhwang often visited this place with me. He explained. The most magnificent and pitiful aspects of many ancestors in this chapel.”

The Empress’s gaze lingered on Edwin’s spot. The most pitiful figure of an emperor.

Edwin, Emperor of the Empire, was an intensely romantic yet incredibly inept ruler. He fell in love with the princess of the Joel Kingdom, made her his empress, and failed to send her back to her homeland. Even when his close son was being executed, he clung only to the empress.

It was said that it was Edwin’s influence that made Emperor Sunhwang so cold to Beatrice.

To prevent becoming an incompetent emperor who would lose even the capital to a woman.

“The Emperor has always said that no one on the throne should be swayed by such emotions. No matter who became Empress, the Emperor would have said the same thing, for that is how he was taught.”

Would he have said the same thing to Alaina? Tenere looked around the room thoughtfully.

Would he have told Alaina, his fiancée, not to expect love? Would he have told her not to be greedy?

Tenere tried not to wonder. Whatever Leonard had told her was none of her business. Knowing would not change anything.

“Emperor Sunhwang always told me to become stronger. What he needs is not a flower stem to hold and protect, but a comrade to fight with. In his absence, I must fill the void, and when he makes a wrong choice, I must be at the forefront to stop him.”

Beatrice’s eyes seemed locked in distant memories. It was a different sight from when she shed no tears when Emperor Sunhwang passed away.

“Empress…”

Tenere, who had sighed quietly, couldn’t finish her words and closed her mouth.

A long silence followed, but Beatrice didn’t ask what she wanted to say.

“You know that the Emperor was a very cold and distant man, don’t you?”

“…I apologize.”

It was a question that she couldn’t affirm or deny. While the Dowager Empress’s words were true, it was not something she could discuss openly about Emperor Sunhwang’s public evaluation in front of her spouse.

Beatrice did not seem to expect or want an answer to the question she threw.

“It was true,” she said, “but it wasn’t always like that.”

The urn, glistening moistly, had vibrant jewels embedded in the lid, and the edges were elegantly carved with gold ornaments.

Beatrice’s hand gently swept over it.

“He was a generous person. I didn’t realize it back then…”

Beatrice’s voice ended there. Another heavy silence descended in the chapel where the deceased were gathered.

Tenere, in a small voice, cautiously spoke up.

“Did the Empress love Emperor Sunhwang?”

At those words, Beatrice turned her head. Looking at the moisture in her affectionate eyes, Tenere held her breath briefly.

“…Yes.”

Her face, on the verge of bursting into tears at any moment, masked the habitual smile. Tenere couldn’t utter a word.